Forward this email to your friends, coworkers and others so they can help spread the word!

Thank you for helping us get the word out! This is a special opportunity for everyone to be part of a movement that will make summer in Charlotte more awesome. We are grateful for, and honored by, your support of our work!

Our July Monthly Mixer in one week from today! Join us next Wednesday, July 13, from 6:00 to 7:30pm at Free Range Brewing!

At 6:30, you'll hear from a recent UNCC graduate and soon-to-be grad who will present their protected bike lane design proposal for Uptown. Join us to see some great visuals of what a protected bike lane could look like through Uptown Charlotte!

Following this presentation, we will give an #ibikeCLT campaign update and brief advocacy training (participation is optional) to gear up for the momentum our campaign is building!

Local residents like you play a critical role in ensuring we have the resources to carry out our work in the community to inspire choices that lead to a healthier and more vibrant community for generations to come! Help us do more by becoming a Sustain Charlotte member today for as little as $3/month -- that's one cup of coffee! Click below to learn how easily you can support our mission and your community via membership. *Membership at the $5/month level includes a free Sustain Charlotte T-shirt (made of 100% recycled material by our Gold Partner Recover)!*

1,487 people have signed our online statement of supportasking Charlotte City Council to approve a protected bike lane through Uptown, connecting Irwin Creek and Little Sugar Creek Greenways and over 900 have signed offline!

Add your name and join the 2,350 local residents who are voicing their support:

Wouldn't you love to see a protected bike lane like this through Uptown?

Did you clean commute this week? Enter the Clean Commute Olympics now for a chance to win this week's prize!

This week, one lucky Clean Commute Olympian will win two monthly Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center Family Passes!

"So-called bus rapid transit options are planned or under discussion for two heavily traveled areas — north Mecklenburg and Independence Boulevard — while the main Charlotte system’s 72 routes are likely to undergo dramatic shifts. Shannon Binns, executive director of Sustain Charlotte, a nonprofit dedicated to combining environmental and economic health, said the lack of reliable bus service here 'is a huge deterrent to ridership. Most folks are too busy to stand around for long periods of time.'" We're thrilled that Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is committed to creating a more efficient and effective bus system!

"Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have been growing at enviable rates through much of the past 30 years. But now the population gains are trending toward newcomers who don’t just favor transit options, they expect them...Figuring out how to pay for that transit option — and building support for a revamped long-range plan detailing where expansion occurs — has become a top concern for John Lewis [CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System] and others in local government." An efficient transit system in Charlotte is critical for ensuring the equitable and sustainable growth of our region!

Ask Charlotte City Councilman John Autry what he envisions for the redevelopment of Charlotte's old Eastland Mall property and you'll hear a checklist for ways the site can serve as a unifying factor for the surrounding community...[He] said the priorities need to change as the neighborhood has. Any redevelopment needs to "meet the needs of the community that we have out there today; not the community that we used to have, not the community that we hoped we would have but taking care of the character — celebrate and uplift the community." We absolutely agree that this kind of long-term thinking needs to be applied to all redevelopment!

June 20 - August 5: Charlotte Air Awareness Clean Commute Olympics

Minimizing vehicle emissions is one of the most powerful steps our community can take to improve air quality. Challenge your friends and coworkers to make a positive change! Record at least five clean commutes for an entry into the Grand Prize drawing. You could win an Ultra-HD television to watch the Rio games, or one of seven weekly prizes for clean commuting this summer! Sustain Charlotte is a partner for this challenge. Registration is now open! Click here to learn more and register yourself or your company today!

July 12: Civic By Design Forum - College Town

5:30pm - 6:30pm @ Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E 7th St, Charlotte, NC 28202. This forum is on building a true college town for Charlotte's University City. There will be an overview of Charlotte’s University City as a testing ground for the potential role(s) of a students-centered local economy in sustainable urban development; Presentations of proposals focused on envisioning student/community retail centers that would be the “student place” to hang out, socialize, etc.; A discussion will follow. This event is free and open to the public.

6:00pm - 7:30pm @ Free Range Brewing, 2320 N Davidson St, Charlotte, NC 28205. Join us for an informal and fun evening of conversation and networking! Our Monthly Mixers provide an opportunity to learn more about us, our partners, and meet others interested in local sustainability issues. At 6:30 you'll hear from a recent UNCC graduate and soon-to-be grad who will present their protected bike lane design proposal for Uptown. Join us to see some great visuals of what a protected bike lane could look like through Uptown Charlotte! There are no membership requirements and everyone is warmly welcomed. Click here to RSVP.

July 26: Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) open house

10:00am – 1:00pm @ Charles Mack Citizen Center, 215 N. Main Street, Mooresville, North Carolina 28115. The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) conducts long-range transportation planning for Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union counties, and is seeking input on its Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP). The CTP is a multi-modal, long-range evaluation of existing and future transportation needs that will serve as the foundation for many of the CRTPO’s future efforts. Click here to learn more.

4:00 - 7:00pm @ the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E 4th St, Charlotte, NC 28202. The City is working with a consultant to evaluate options to connect the Little Sugar, Irwin and Stewart Creek greenways and at this workshop,YOU will have the chance to provide input for this study! Please attend this workshop and let the city know that you want to see a safe, protected bike lane connecting our greenways and ultimately a network of protected lanes throughout Charlotte. We are encouraging people from all over Charlotte to ride their bikes to this event. Make it a group ride, make it a race, make it a slow cruise, just make it out on Sept 20th and let your voice be heard in support of safe, connected, world-class bicycle infrastructure! Click here to learn more.

Sept 30 - Oct 1: Carolina Jubilee

@ VanHoy Farms in Harmony, NC. A two-day rock and bluegrass festival highlighting Carolina Farm Trust’s mission; protecting farm land and fostering an ecosystem of sustainable farming. Anjoy live music, a beer garden, farm-to-table food, local vendors, and camping optional on-site. The proceeds from the festival are going to support a local farm, Mary L, in purchasing a pasteurization system so that they can sell their local, organic, free range milk directly to the community! Click here to purchase tickets and learn more.

Sustain Charlotte will host this highly anticipated event on Saturday, October 15th, 12-6pm in Center City and South End Charlotte. This unique event shows hundreds of people how easy it is to get around without driving! Participants will bike, walk, or ride transit to sponsoring businesses while collecting stamps in their official Biketoberfest passport. Stamps will be redeemed for raffle tickets and a chance to win many valuable prizes! This family-friendly event will end with an after party celebration with live music and an exciting raffle! All proceeds will benefit Sustain Charlotte, your community advocate for biking in Charlotte! Click here to learn more.

Per their website, the NCSEA is the "leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to driving public policy and market development that creates clean energy jobs, economic opportunities and affordable energy to benefit all of North Carolina."

MANY THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

Is your company interested in joining the Sustain Charlotte Partner Network? Our generous partners play a critical role in supporting our work. Through our corporate membership program, we provide year-round brand exposure, positive publicity, and business development opportunities to those businesses and nonprofits that are helping make our community more sustainable through their products, services, or commitment to move their organization towards greater sustainability. Become a partner today!